This invention relates generally to non-resealable dispensers, and more particularly to dispensers of this type which employ a screw cap that is receivable on a cap body, which latter in turn is intended to be secured to a dispensing container.
A number of prior non-resealable dispensers have been proposed and produced, going back a considerable number of years. Known non-resealable containers of one form or another are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 797,698; 922,335; 1,040,500; and 3,227,303.
U.S. Pat. No. 922,335 relates to a dispenser for wine or other liquids, wherein an overcap is permanently retained on the neck of a bottle by means of multiple spring clips. The overcap has a hollow interior, with a cork that is initially pressed into the discharge opening of the neck. Connected to the cork is a string which in turn carries a pull-ring, such that when the user desires to un-cork the dispenser, he merely pulls on the ring and dislodges the cork. Due to the fact that the cork is confined within the hollow interior of the overcap, re-installation of the cork in the bottle neck is prevented.
U.S. Pat. No. 797,698 shows a non-refillable bottle employing a cork or stopper that is carried by an actuator rod. In this particular construction, the cork is disposed in a tapered bore, such that once it becomes dislodged from its sealing position, it cannot be easily returned thereto. FIG. 1 of this patent shows the container in the sealing position, whereas FIG. 2 illustrates the container in the dispensing condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,040,500 discloses a non-refillable bottle employing a stopper plug having multiple longitudinal transverse slots which carry a number of spring clips. The clips are intended to be received in interior longitudinal and transverse slots or recesses in the bottle neck, and function to prevent return of the stopper to its sealing position once the container has been opened.
Yet another construction is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,303. In this patented arrangement, a bottle or similar container having an enlarged neck portion is provided with a resilient ferrule which, in a temporary manner, holds captive a bulbous stopper member. The ferrule, being somewhat resilient, can yield an extent; when it is desired to use the dispenser, the stopper member is merely tilted to become clear of the flange of the ferrule. The arrangement is such that re-installation of the stopper member is difficult or impossible to achieve. Several different constructions are illustrated, showing different manners of retention of the stopper member by the ferrule.
All of the above patents involve containers or dispensers that are provided to the consumer in a closed or sealed condition, and where it is intended that the consumer merely open the container, as by a relatively simple operation, after which it is not possible for the container to be re-closed, or sealed up.
In one new product that is currently being developed, namely a hair-coloring kit, it is necessary for the consumer to mix together several substances that are supplied separately in the kit, and thereafter apply the resultant mixture to the hair in the usual manner. With products of this type, it is necessary for the container to be able to accomodate the initial mixing operation, preferably with a minimum of mess or inconvenience, so that spillage or waste of the product does not occur. Moreover, it has been found that in many cases, after such substances are mixed the resultant reaction between them releases small quantities of gas. If the individual parts of the kit were to be mixed in a conventional glass or plastic bottle with the usual screw cap closure, it is possible that there could result an undesirable pressure build-up within the container, causing it either to explode or else rupture, giving rise to problems of leakage, etc.
To my knowledge, there do not exist any simple dispensers which maintain the capability for removal of a closure piece so as to facilitate using the dispenser to mix one or more substances together, while at the same time providing a non-resealable turn-type structure on the closure piece, whereby once the latter is replaced on the container and an initial dispensing operation is performed, resealing of the container becomes difficult or impossible.